By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
Senior Correspondent
The application filed by former Enugu State governor Dr Chimaraoke Nnamani challenging the jurisdiction of a Federal High Court Lagos to put him on trial, as well as a perpetual injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting him was Friday (today) struck out by Justice Chuka Obiozor.
The application was struck out by the judge following a request by Rickey Tarfa (SAN), counsel to Nnamani to withdraw same.
However the request by Nnamani’s counsel that the bench warrant of arrest earlier issued against Nnamani by the court be vacated was vehemently refused by Justice Obiozor who insisted that Chimaraoke Nnamani must be arrested and brought before the court for arraignment as ordered.
Nnamani is to appear before the court to answer charges of N5.3 billion fraud levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In refusing the request to vacate the bench warrant against Nnamani, Justice Obiozor declared; “The request for an order to discharge the bench warrant against the first defendant before me, for now, is hereby refused.
“This is without prejudice to the renewal of the application at the next adjourned date.”
The matter was thereafter adjourned until February 20, 2018 at the instance of the counsel to the EFCC, Kelvin Uzozie, who pleaded for time to consult with the anti-graft agency on how to proceed with the case.
Meanwhile, after the application challenging the jurisdiction of the court and seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from arresting Nnamani was withdrawn, Tarfa argued that there was no valid charge against Nnamani before the court.
He further argued that a plea bargain had been entered in the case, leading to the conviction of the 3rd to 8th defendants.
But in his submission, Uzozie posited that though there was a plea bargain in respect of the 3rd to 8th defendants, the case of Nnamani and his ex-aide, Sunday Anyaogu, who were joined as first and second defendants, was yet to be concluded. “We are working on an amendment of the charge to reflect the proper situation.
According to him, “We will ask the court to indulge us by way of an adjournment to bring a clean copy of the charge sheet.”
It would be recalled that Nnamani, Anyaogu and six companies had first been arraigned in 2007 for allegedly conspiring to divert about N5.3 billion from the coffers of Enugu State.
Meanwhile, Anyaogu (2nd defendant) was present in court at today’s (Friday) proceeding but Nnamani was conspicously absent.
During the last sitting in December 2017, Nnamani’s counsel represented by Abubakar Shamsudeen from the chambers of Rickey Tarfa & Co had argued that the former Enugu State governor was bedridden in a hospital in the United States of America where he underwent a heart surgery.
Shamsudeen, had exhibited a photograph, showing Nnamani on the sickbed.
But Uzozie counsel to EFCC disagreed with him, claiming that the photograph had been in circulation on the Internet since 2014.
